Dorr community responds to news of traffic signal

Will a new traffic signal at 142nd Avenue and 18th Street be a good thing for the Dorr community?

"Yes and no," said Bill Fifelski, the co-owner of Dorr Marathon - Fifelski's Auto and Towing Service, located at the northwest corner of that intersection.

He agreed that traffic sometimes backs up in front of the flashing red light. "They're lined up close to the Dairy Ranch," about half a mile away, he said.

The current flashing red light at that corner will be replaced by Oct. 31 with a regular green-yellow-red signal. The $42,000 cost will be paid by Allegan County.

Fifelski is OK with the "red" phase of the new signal, but said the "green" could be a problem. Currently, the flashing red makes all cars stop, which slows traffic through the area.

"Now, with the green light, they're just going to be going right on through," Fifelski said. "People are going to be going too fast through downtown Dorr ... it's going to cause some accidents."

Fifelski, a longtime firefighter, said the signal could interfere with firefighters approaching the fire station on the southwest corner, and with fire trucks leaving on a call.

It might also make it more difficult for his own customers to access his business, Fifelski said.

Dorr Township Supervisor Jeff Miling said the recently announced improvement could help "alleviate some of our traffic problem." The change was requested by a previous supervisor.

Other Dorr residents expressed their thoughts.

"I'm sure it will increase wait times," said Stephanie Caulder, "but at least now I don't have to play 'chicken' with the guy/gal that doesn't know who has the right of way at a four-way stop."

Abigail Noble said the new signal was a "bad idea."

"It's busy a couple times a day, but most of the time the corner is dead," she said. "This will mean pointless wait times and slow through-time even more." She suggested that the light be set to blinking red during most of the day.

Bethany Huizenga agreed, saying she grew up in a town that had a good system, a green-yellow-red light that operated only during the busiest times of the day.

"I have mixed feelings about this," she said. "Having a child to take to and from school, the (current) light is chaos in the mornings. People cannot seem to handle the rules of taking turns, and it gets very backed up." During most of the day, though, "it is pretty dead," Huizenga said.

Miling said the intersection would not be completely blocked off during installation of the signal, so no detours would be necessary. Other than the Oct. 31 deadline for completion, he could not provide information about when the project might begin.